Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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1
AN INSTANT-WIN LOTTERY TICKET ALLOWING KEYLESS
VALIDATION AND METHOD FOR VALIDATING SAME
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is
subject
to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile
reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it
appears in
the Patent and Trademarlc Office patent file or records, but otherwise
reserves all
copyright rights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Lottery game tickets are frequently sold in retail establishinents such as
convenience
stores, liquor stores, and the like. These and other establishments selling
lottery
tickets are sensitive to the costs of counter space used, and labor required
in the sale
and redemption of lottery tickets
Some lottery customers do not want to wait for a weekly or daily drawing.
These
customers may purchase "instant-win" lottery tickets. Such tickets may also
involve
games, such as lotto, battleship, bingo, or other games that increase customer
interest
and enjoyment in the purchase of such tickets. Instant-win lottery tickets are
generally sold to retailers in pre-printed books or bundles. A pre-printed
ticket may
have a printed indicia or message indicating the ticket is a winner and/or the
prize
amount, as well as human or machine-readable codes for authenticating winning
tickets. These indicia, messages, and codes may be hidden, e.g., with a peel-
off or
scratch-off coating. Commonly, whether an instant-win ticket is a winner is
predetermined prior to the sale of the ticket.
One cost that retailers are particularly sensitive to is the cost of redeeming
tickets.
Retailers do not want to spend excessive amounts of time dealing with
redemptions of
tickets that are not actually winners. Also retailers want to minimize the
amount of
time spent authenticating tickets. At the same time lottery providers want to
insure
that lotteries are protected from fraud, including fraud by retailers.
Accordingly,
efficient and reliable approaches to ticket validation are desirable.
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To allow authentication of winning instant-win
tickets, conventional instant-win tickets may include a
numeric code that is keyed in by a cashier when the ticket
is tendered for redemption. For example, U.S.
Patent 5,317,135 to Finocchio describes a method and
apparatus for validating instant-win tickets. This numeric
code may be used to authenticate the ticket, e.g., as a key
in a public key encryption system or as an index to a ticket
database. Some other proposed lottery systems use machine
readable authentication information in order to speed the
process of validating a ticket. Machine readable
information avoids the need to have a cashier or attendant
manually key in authentication information. These proposed
lottery systems have included tickets where all of the
authentication information is hidden when the ticket is
sold, e.g., by hiding a machine-readable code under the
scratch-off coating found on a typical instant ticket.
However, to improve authentication and fraud control, it may
be useful to make some of the authentication information
available prior to the sale of a ticket, and thus prior to
the removal of the concealing scratch-off or other layer.
SUMIlMARY
According to one particular aspect of the
invention, there is provided a method for validating an
instant win lottery game ticket having a game play area
covered by a removable opaque coating, comprising: reading a
first optically machine-readable code from a first area of
the game ticket separate and apart from the game play area
of the game ticket, the first area not having been
previously covered with the removable opaque coating that
has been subsequently removed, the first machine-readable
code including a first piece of authentication information
2
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which is part but not all of the information required to
validate the game ticket as a winning ticket; reading a
second optically machine-readable code from a second area of
the game ticket, the second area having been previously
covered with the removable opaque coating, the second
machine-readable code including a second piece of
authentication information which is part but not all of the
information required to validate the game ticket as a winning
ticket; validating the game ticket using both the first and
second pieces of authentication information, the validation
being independent of which portions of the removable opaque
covering were removed from the game ticket by a game player.
A further aspect of the invention provides a system
for redeeming an instant win lottery game ticket having a
game play area covered with a removable opaque coating,
comprising: an input device configured to read a first
optically machine-readable code from a first area on the
instant-win lottery ticket separate and apart from the game
play area and not previously covered with the removable
opaque coating, the input device further configured to read a
second optically machine-readable code from a second area on
the instant-win lottery ticket previously covered with the
removable opaque coating, the first machine-readable code
including a first piece of authentication information for the
game ticket and the second machine-readable code including a
second piece of authentication information for the game
ticket; an output device; and a controller in communication
with the input device and the output device, the controller
configured to receive an at least one signal from the input
device, the at least one signal including the first piece of
authentication information and the second piece of
authentication information, the controller further configured
2a
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to authenticate the game ticket using at least both the first
piece of authentication information and the second piece of
authentication information, the authentication being
independent of which portions of the removable opaque
covering were removed from the game ticket by a game player,
the controller further configured to signal the output device
to output a message indicating that the game ticket should be
redeemed if the controller has authenticated the game ticket,
the controller further configured to signal the output device
to output a message indicating that the game ticket should
not be redeemed if the controller has not received both the
first piece of authentication information and the second
piece of authentication information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 illustrates an example lottery ticket,
according to an example embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 illustrates a reverse side of an example
lottery ticket, according to an example embodiment of the
present invention.
Figure 3 illustrates an example cross-sectional
view of an example lottery ticket, according to an example
embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 illustrates an example procedure for the
sale of a lottery ticket, according to an example embodiment
of the present invention.
Figure 5 illustrates an alternative example
procedure for sale and activation of a ticket, according to
an alternative example embodiment of the present invention.
2b
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Figure 6 illustrates an example redemption
procedure for instant-win lottery tickets, according to an
example embodiment of the present invention.
2c
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Figure 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example point of sale terminal,
according to
an example embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 illustrates an external physical view of the example point of sale
terminal,
according to an example embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 9 illustrates an example distributed system for sale and redemption of
game
tickets, according to an alternative example embodiment of the present
invention.
Figure 10a illustrates an example ticket information table, according to an
example
embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 10b illustrates an example entry in the example ticket information
table of
Figure 10a, according to an example embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DECRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS
Example Ticket
Figure 1 illustrates an example lottery ticket, according to an example
embodiment of
the present invention. The example lottery ticket may be for an instant-win
lottery
game. Instant-win games differ from pooled drawing games, where a lottery
ticket
represents a chance in a drawing to be held at some later time for a pooled
prize or
prizes. Rather, in an instant-win game, whether the ticket is a winner is
determined at
or before the time the ticket is purchased, although whether the ticket is
actually a
winner may be concealed from the buyer and seller. Instant-win games may
include
"extended play" features such as games printed on the ticket, e.g., bingo or
number
matching. These features may increase the enjoyment and interest level of
purchasers
of such tickets, causing them to buy tickets in greater numbers or more
frequently. It
will be appreciated that the example ticket may also be used for other forms
of games,
e.g., for promotional games such as those used in direct mail or at fast food
restaurants.
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The example lottery ticket 100 illustrated in Figure 1 may be located on a
substrate,
e.g., a printable substrate such as paper, card stock, plastic, or various
laminates.
Information may be found on both sides of the example lottery ticket. The
obverse
side of the ticket shown in Figure 1 may include a non-play area 110 and a
play area
120.
The non-play area 110 may include information not directly involved in the
play of
the "extended play" game provided on the ticket. Located on the non-play area
may
be instructions 112 for playing the extended play game, or for the use and/or
redemption of the ticket. The non-play area 110 may include a card series
identifier
114 that may identify the game and type of ticket. The card series identifier
114 may
be used by the retailer in inventory control and/or other point of sale
purposes. The
non-play area may also include logos or advertising information 116, e.g.,
identifying
the provider of the game such as a state lottery.
The play area 120 may include game information 122. The game information may
be
examined by a ticket purchaser in light of the rules of the game to detennine
wliether
the ticket is a winner, and if so the winning amount. The play area may
include a
numeric code 124. More digits may be provided for greater security. The
numeric
code may include part of the information needed to authenticate the ticket
when the
ticket is redeemed. Portions of the numeric code may be highlighted, by
underlining
them as illustrated, or by other approaches, e.g., placing a black box around
or a
colored box over the numbers to be highlighted. A machine-readable version of
the
numeric code 126 may also be located on the play area. The machine-readable
version of the numeric code 126 may be a bar code, e.g., a stacked linear bar
code or
two-dimensional bar code. A standard 2 of 5 or other standard bar code may be
employed. It will be appreciated that other forms of machine-readable
information
may be included on the ticket, in place of the bar codes, e.g., magnetic
strips or smart
card capability. It will also be appreciated that the machine readable code
126 may
also include other information, e.g., a checking code that may provide
sufficient
information to identify whether the ticket is a winner without providing
sufficient
information to authenticate the ticket. Such a check code may be used at a
checking
station that may be provided to allow customers to test whether they have
winning
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tickets. Other information may also be provided, e.g., the identifier of the
pack the
ticket comes from.
Figure 2 illustrates the reverse side of an example lottery ticket 100,
according to an
exainple embodiment of the present invention. The reverse side of the example
lottery ticket 100 may include a form 202 for the collection of redemption
information. This redemption information may include the signature of the
person
redeeming the ticket as well as their name, address, telephone number, and
age.
Depending on the jurisdiction, collection of this information may be required
by
regulators or may be useful for other purposes, e.g., constructing a direct
marketing
database. The reverse side of the example lottery ticket 100 may also include
game
instructions and disclaimers 204, e.g., required legal notices, information
about where
and how to redeem the ticket, a ticket expiration date, etc.
The reverse side of the example lottery ticket may also include a numeric code
208
and a machine-readable version of the numeric code 210. The numeric code 208
and
machine-readable numeric code 210 may include the same information. The
numeric
code may include authentication information that is required for the
authentication of
a winning ticket, or for the authentication of winning tickets of greater than
a certain
amount. More digits may be provided for greater security. Information in the
numeric code 208 may also be used to activate the ticket before it is sold.
Requiring
activation of tickets before sale may make fraud and/or ticket theft more
difficult,
although it does increase the amount of resources required to sell tickets.
The
numeric code 208 may also contain other information, e.g., an identification
of the
lottery selling the game, an identification of the particular game, etc.
The reverse side of the example lottery ticket 100 may also include an
inventory
control number and/or bar code 212. The information contained in the inventory
control number may be used by a retailer to track ticket sales and purchases,
but not
for ticket authentication. The format for the inventory control bar code may
match
other standard inventory control codes used by retailers. For example the
inventory
control number may be a standard UPC code.
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Figure 3 illustrates an example cross-sectional view of an example lottery
ticket,
according to an example embodiment of the present invention. The example
lottery
ticket 100 may include a substrate 302. The game play area 304 may be located
on
one side of the substrate 302. A machine-readable code 310 may be located on
the
game play area. The machine-readable code 310 may contain authentication
information needed for the authentication of a winning ticket. Other
information,
discussed above, may also be located on the game play area. A removable opaque
layer 308 may cover the game play area, including any information located on
the
gaine play area, such as the code 310. Printed tickets with removable scratch-
off
layers are available from many sources, e.g., Pollard Banknote Ltd. of
Winnipeg,
Canada, Scientific Games Corporation of New Yorlc, NY, Oberthur Gaming
Technologies of Montreal, Canada and Creative Games International, Inc. of
Plant
City, FL.
Information may also be located on the reverse side of the example lottery
ticket 100.
For example, a second numeric code 208 and machine readable version of this
code
210 may be located on the reverse side of 100. The numeric code 208 and
machine
readable code 210 may contain the same information. They may both contain
authentication information needed to authenticate a winning ticket before
redemption.
It will be appreciated that the various items located on the card may be re-
arranged.
For example, the information located in the game play area under the opaque
layer
may be intentionally moved to random locations under the concealing layer in
order
to prevent "pin-pricking", a form of fraud where pin-pricks are used to
determine
what is located under the concealing layer.
It will be appreciated that all the information displayed on the card, and in
particular
the authentication codes, need not be printed, but may be included on the card
using
other approaches, e.g., using a machine-readable magnetic stripe or smart
code.
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Figiire 4 illustrates an example procedure for the sale of a lottery ticket,
according to
an example embodiment of the present invention. It will be appreciated that
the
example procedure may be completed using a point of sale terminal operated by
a
cashier or attendant, or may be completed by an automated point of sale
terminal, e.g.
a vending machine.
In 410, a request to purchase a lottery ticket may be received. For example,
the
request may result from a customer asking a cashier to purchase a ticket, who
then
keys the request in to the point of sale terminal. Alternatively, the customer
may
enter a request directly into a machine, e.g., by using a touch keypad, a
keyboard, or
pressing buttons.
In 420, whether there are tickets available from an active pack of tickets may
be
determined. Presently, retailers receive instant-win lottery tickets in packs
or books.
For security and auditing purposes, a pack of tickets may need to be activated
before
any tickets of the pack are sold. If there are not presently tickets from an
active pack,
the example procedure may continues with 430. If active tickets are available
the
example procedure may continue with 440.In 430, a new pack of tickets may be
activated, e.g., by entering appropriate codes. The activation of a pack of
tickets may
result in information about the activation being communicated to a central
game
control server. This may be accomplished by keying in a code provided on a
pack of
tickets, or scanning a bar code provided for that purpose on a ticket pack.
Alternatively, a request to activate a pack of tickets may be provided
automatically
when a request to activate a first ticket in a pack is made. The activation of
a pack of
tickets may result in information about the activation being communicated to a
central
game control server, e.g., an identity code for the pack, information
indicating when
and/or where the pack was activated. Activation of a pack may also require a
retailer
to provide a password or take other actions related to security and fraud
control.
Additional security and audit measures may also be provided, e.g., the
identity of
organizations to whom ticket packs are provided may be recorded, and the
tickets
may only be activated by the same organization that is recorded as having
purchased a
particular ticket pack.
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In 440, a ticket may be selected from an active pack of tickets. This may be
accomplished by a cashier, or the tickets may be automatically dispensed by an
attended point of sale terminal with a dispensing capability, or the tickets
may be
dispensed by an unattended ticket vending machine.
In 450, an inventory code on the ticket may be scanned. This scanning may be
similar to the sale of other products, and may be used to record the sale of a
ticket in a
retailer's point of sale system, and to provide information to a point of sale
terminal
for generating a sales receipt.
In 460, payment may be received from a customer for the ticket. Payment may be
in
any fonn accepted by the retailer for lottery purchases, e.g., cash, credit or
debit card,
check.
In 470, the ticket may be presented to the customer. This completes the
example
ticket sale procedure.
It will be appreciated that alternative procedures may be used for the sale
and
activation of tickets. Figure 5 illustrates an alternative exainple procedure
for sale
and activation of a ticket, according to an alternative exainple embodiment of
the
present invention. The alternative example procedure may be generally similar
to the
example procedure previously illustrated in Figure 4, with the follow
additions. 510,
520 and 530 may be identical to 410, 420, and 430, respectively, in the
exainple
procedure illustrated in Figure 4.
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In the alternative example activation procedure, individual tickets may be
activated
before they are sold. A ticket from an active pack may be selected and the
inventory
code is scanned, e.g., in 540 and 550, in a manner similar to that previously
described
for the example activation procedure. In 552 a machine-readable authentication
code
on the ticket may be scanned, e.g., by using a bar code reader or other input
device.
The machine-readable authentication code is not concealed by a scratch-off or
other
concealing layer. The machine-readable authentication code may contain
sufficient
authentication information to uniquely track and record the ticket, and
confirm that
the ticket is an authentic ticket, but does not contain sufficient information
to
determine if the ticket is a winning ticket.
In 554, the machine-readable authentication code or other information derived
from
the code read in 552 (e.g., selected digits) may be transmitted to a lottery
server or
other ticket control database. The ticket control database may be co-located
with the
lottery point of sale terminal, or may be a central server connected to many
different
point of sale terminals over a network. An entry in a ticket database for the
selected
ticket may be used to verify that the ticket is authentic, and to record that
the ticket
has been sold. The ticket database entry may be marked to include the date,
time, and
location of the sale, e.g., for use in auditing. A message that the ticket has
been
successfully activated may be transmitted back to the ticket point of sale
terminal. If
the activation code is unique for each ticket, a re-used or re-sold may be
detected and
flagged, and appropriate message that the ticket is invalid may be generated.
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In 556, an indication may be provided that the ticket is valid and activated.
For
example an audible tone, green light, or message may be provided by the point
of sale
terminal. This may be desirable, because some of the most common types of
fraud in
instant-win ticket games are perpetrated by people working in the retail sale
of
tickets. For example, an unscrupulous retailer or ticket agent may attempt to
identify
winning tickets, and retain them, while selling the losing tickets to
customers.
Providing an indication that a ticket is valid and has just been activated may
insure
that a pre-checked losing ticket is not being re-sold to a customer. It will
be
appreciated that alternative messages may be provided for when the ticket is
invalid.
Having a unique code for each ticket, e.g., the machine readable code which is
not
located under the removable opaque coating, will facilitate the identification
of
attempts to re-sell losing tickets. When an attempt to activate a ticket witll
a unique
identifier that has been previously activated is detected, this likely
indicates some sort
of problem, e.g., error and/or fraud is occurring.
In 560 payment may be received from the customer. In 570 the activated ticket
may
be tendered to the customer.
It will be appreciated that other procedures for ticket sale and activation
may be
employed, e.g., the example procedure may be re-ordered and additional
security
checks and features may be added.
It will be appreciated that the example and alternative example ticket sale
and
activation procedures illustrated above may be provided as a series of
instructions
adapted to be executed by a processor. These instruction may be provided on an
article of manufacture, e.g., a disk, a tape, a memory, a CD-ROM, etc.
Figure 6 illustrates an example validation procedure for instant-win lottery
tickets,
according to an example embodiment of the present invention. In 610, a request
to
pay a "winning" ticket may be received. For example, a customer may tender an
instant-win ticket to a cashier at a lottery point of sale terminal, or the
ticket may be
inserted into an automated vending machine that is configured to redeem
tickets.
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In 620, a piece of authentication information from the ticket may be received.
A
machine readable code, not originally found under the removable coating on a
scratch-off instant-win lottery game may be scanned, e.g., using a bar code
scanner.
The scanning may be performed by a ticket agent, e.g., with a scanning wand,
or by
an automated point of sale terminal that includes a scanning device. The code
read
from the ticket may be the first piece of autllentication information, or it
may contain
the first authentication information, e.g., as a subset of the digits or
otller
predetermined function. This may be the same code originally used to activate
the
ticket, if pre-sale activation is employed. Alternatively, both activation and
authentication codes may be separate, either as two separate machine readable
codes,
or as different parts of a single machine readable codes, e.g., different
digit positions
in a single code.
In 622, a second piece of authentication information may be received from the
tendered ticket. A second machine readable code, originally located under the
removable coating on a scratch-off instant-win lottery game may be scanned,
e.g.,
using a bar code scanner. Because the machine readable code located under the
removable opaque layer should only be readable after the ticket has been
played, the
code read from the ticket may be the second piece of authentication
information by
itself, or it may contain the second piece of authentication information,
e.g., as a
subset of the digits or other predetermined function.
In 630, information about the tendered ticket may be retrieved. This may be
accomplished, in some applications, by processing the information and looking
up
information contained in the point of sale terminal, e.g., in a prize pool.
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Alternatively, 630 may also involve transmitting a predetermined function of
the
scanned authentication numbers to a central lottery control or database
system, e.g.,
the entirety of both codes, a subset of each code, a sum of the codes, a
concatenation
of the codes, etc. The central lottery control or database system may then
process the
authentication codes, e.g., by checking corresponding entries in a ticket
database. The
central lottery control system may include a database of all tickets in the
game,
whether they are winners, whether the amount they win, whether the tickets
have
been activated, etc. The authentication information from the tendered ticket
may be
used as a key to look up an appropriate entry in the ticket database. It will
be
appreciated that more than two pieces of authentication information may be
employed
in alternative implementations of the exanlple authentication procedure.
In 632, whether the ticket is an authentic winning ticket may be determined.
For
example, a ticket without an entry in the database would not be redeemable.
Also the
ticket's entry in the database may indicate the ticket is a losing ticket. If
the ticket is
not an authentic winning ticket the example procedure may continue with 634.
Otherwise the example procedure may continue with 640.
In 634, a message may be transmitted to the point of sale terminal that the
ticket is not
a winning ticket. The point of sale ticket may generate a message to indicate
the
ticket is not a winning ticket, e.g., by sending a message to a screen visible
to the
operator or to the customer. It may also be useful to generate instructions
for how to
determine a winning ticket from the game ticket, because it may be likely that
the
customer has incorrectly interpreted the ticket and does not understand how to
identify a winning ticket.
In 640, information on whether the ticket has been previously redeemed may be
looked up in the ticket database. It may also be useful to verify the ticket
has been
activated, if activation of tickets prior to sale is required in the
particular
implementation of the example procedure. If the ticket has been previously
redeemed
an appropriate message may be generated, and the example procedure may
continue
with 634, sending a message to the point of sale terminal and/or operator not
to
redeem the ticket. If the ticket has not been previously redeemed the example
procedure may continue with 646.
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In 646, tickets of greater than a certain value may be diverted. For example
tickets
redeemable for prizes greater than $500 may be diverted. Tickets may also be
diverted for other reasons, e.g., tickets flagged for random audits, or
tickets that have
been flagged by security procedures as suspicious for other reasons, e.g.,
tickets from
packs which have been identified as lost or stolen. If the redemption is
diverted, the
example procedure may continue with 648. Otherwise the example procedure may
continue with 650.
In 648, ticket redemption may be diverted. For example, a message may be sent
to
the point of sale terminal that indicates the customer should bring the ticket
to a
lottery service center for validation and redemption. Such procedures are
conventionally used in many lottery and other gaming applications. Large
tickets can
then be authenticated in person. In addition to improving security, diverting
large
tickets also has the advantage of reducing the likelihood that a retailer will
be unable
to redeem a large ticket because they do not have sufficient cash on hand.
In 650, the ticket database may be updated to indicate the ticket has been
redeemed.
Conventional locking procedures may be used to insure atomic redemption
transactions, prevent problems with lost connections or computer crashes. Such
procedures protect customers from being unable to redeem winning tickets after
such
failures have occurred, and may also be included to prevent fraudulent
redemption
schemes.
In 660, an indication that the ticket should be redeemed may be generated,
e.g., by the
central lottery computer sending a message to the lottery point of sale
terminal. This
signal may cause an automated point of sale terminal to dispense cash for the
winning
ticket, or may cause a message to be displayed in a conventional lottery point
of sale
terminal that indicates the attendant should pay the winning ticket.
In 670 and 680, conventional cash management procedures may be followed, e.g.,
by
opening a cash drawer and logging the payment made. Alternatively, correct
amounts
may automatically be dispensed and logged, e.g., from a automated vending
machine
type application.
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It will be appreciated that other operations may be included in the example
procedure,
and that the operations of the example procedure may be re-ordered. For
example,
additional promotional activities may be incorporated into the procedure, such
as
offering to allow the customer to purchase new tickets or receive store credit
instead
of receiving cash for a winning ticket. Multi-level security procedures may be
employed, with an initial screening at the terminal for small amounts, and a
central
database screening used only for larger amounts. Diverted tickets, because
they are
of great interest to anyone interested in fraud because of the high value, may
be
excluded from the database. Rather, a diverted ticket may simply have a
diversion
instruction on it, and not be redeemable electronically, and the identities of
the
diverted tickets may be stored in a special high-security list not normally
accessible to
remote terminals. It will be appreciated that many other variations to the
example
authentication procedure may also be employed.
It will be appreciated that the example validation procedure illustrated above
may be provided as a series of instructions adapted to be executed by a
processor.
These instruction may be provided on an article of manufacture, e.g., a disk,
a tape, a
memory, a CD-ROM, etc.
Figure 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example point of sale terminal,
according to
an example embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 illustrates an
external
physical view of the example point of sale terminal, according to an example
embodiment of the present invention. The example point of sale terminal may be
configured for use with instant-win lottery tickets or other games. The
example point
of sale terminal may be a specialized "lottery-only" terminal or may also be
configured to function as a conventional point of sale terminal, e.g., as a
cash register
for otlier merchandise.
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The example point of sale terminal may include an input device 710. The input
device may be configured to facilitate human input to the point of sale
terminal. The
input device may be a keyboard, keypad, touch screen, or other input device.
Voice
input may also be included, provided proper security measures are available.
It will
appreciated that different formats of input devices may be used in attended
and
automated point of sale terminals. The example point of sale terminal may
include a
barcode scanner 712. The barcode scanner may be replaced by any other suitable
machine input device capable of inputting machine-readable information from a
game
ticket, e.g., a magnetic stripe scanner, a smart card reader, etc. The bar
code scaimer
or other input device may be configured to read a machine-readable code, e.g.,
a bar
code, from a first area on the instant-win lottery ticket not previously
covered with a
removable opaque coating, e.g., the code on the back of the ticket previously
illustrated. This machine readable code may be read when a ticket is sold and
used to
activate the ticket. The input device may also be configured to read this code
when
the ticket is tendered for redemption. The input device may be further
configured to
read a second machine-readable code from the game play area on an instant-win
lottery ticket when the lottery ticket is tendered for redemption. This game
play area
is the area that was previously covered with the removable opaque coating,
such as a
scratch-off layer. Both the machine readable codes may include authentication
information, such as a numerical or symbolic code. The input device may be
configured to transmit this information to the controller of the point of sale
terininal,
or alternatively, to transmit it directly to a central server or lottery
database computer.
It will be appreciated that the input device may operate automatically, e.g.,
in an
unattended vending machine style terminal, or may be used by an attendant at a
conventional lottery point of sale terminal, e.g., by swiping the ticket with
a bar code
scanning wand. Alternatively, an attended point of sale terminal may allow the
ticket
to be inserted into the machine and scanned automatically.,
The example point of sale terminal may include a receipt printer 720. The
receipt
printer may be configured to print receipts for game ticket purchases and
redemptions. In some applications, the receipt printer may be configured to
print the
game tickets themselves.
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The example point of sale terminal may include a display 730. In an attended
point of
sale terminal this display may be configured to display information to the
attendant.
The example point of sale terminal may include an auxiliary display 732. In an
attended point of sale terminal this may be configured to display information
to a
customer. In an unattended terminal a single display may replace the display
and
auxiliary display. In either application, the display may be any conventional
display,
e.g., LCD, CRT, or other display technology.
The example point of sale terminal may include a controller 740. The
controller may
be a microprocessor, single board computer, personal computer, or other type
of
controller.
The controller may be connected to the other components of the point of sale
terminal
via a bus, a network, or other form of coimection that facilitates
communication
between the controller and other components of the point of sale terminal. The
controller may be configured to direct the operations of the input and output
devices,
receiving information from the input devices and sending information for
output to
the output devices. The controller may be configured to have the output device
prompt an attendant to scan one or more codes from a ticket, either to
activate the
ticket before sale, or to authenticate the ticket when tendered for
redemption.
When a ticket is tendered for redemption, the controller may be configured to
receive
both authentication information read from the barcode scanner or other input
device.
These pieces of authentication information may be obtained from at least two
separate
machine readable codes on the ticket, one previously under the scratch-off
layer, and
one not previously under the scratch off layer. The authentication information
may be
the machine readable codes, may be part of the machine readable codes, or may
be
determined using some predefined function of the machine readable codes, e.g.,
a
concatenation of two codes. The controller may be further configured to
authenticate
the game ticket using at least both the first piece of authentication
information and the
second piece of authentication information. For example, this may be
accomplished
by using the authentication information, either separately or in combination
as an
index to look up the tendered ticket in a ticket database. For example, the
two pieces
of information may be concatenated or added together to form a single index
for
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looking up the ticket in a ticket database or table. Alternatively, two
separate
authentication operations may be performed, one with each code, with the
ticket
ultimately being found valid only if both operations are successful. A third
alternative is to perform a single validation operation, but to use the two
pieces of
information as successive indices into a two-level hash system or other table
used for
ticket validation.
If the controller finds that the ticket is a valid, e.g., when both pieces of
authentication
information are present and valid, and that the winning ticket that has not
been
previously redeemed, the controller may be further configured to signal the
output
device to output a message indicating that the game ticket should be redeemed.
If the
controller finds the ticket is invalid, a loser, or has been previously
redeemed, the
controller may be further configured to signal the output device to output a
message
indicating that the game ticket should not be redeemed.
The example point of sale terminal may include a storage subsystem 750. The
storage subsystem may include RAM memory, flash memory, disk, CD-ROMS, or
other forms of storage. The storage subsystem may be separate from or
contained
within the controller or another component of the point of sale terminal. The
storage
subsystem may be provided as a single unit, or as separate units for separate
types of
information needing storage.
The example point of sale terminal may include a POS control program 760 which
may be stored in the storage subsystem. The POS control program may be
configured
to control conventional point of sale operations of the point of sale
terminal, e.g., if
the terminal is used for regular cash register sales operations or for the
sales of other
types of game tickets besides those described herein.
The example point of sale terminal may include a game control program 770
which
may be stored in the storage subsystem. The game control program may be used
to
control game operations at the point of sale terminal, e.g., the sale,
activation,
authentication, and redemption of instant-win lottery tickets such as those
illustrated
previously.
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The example point of sale terminal may include a prize poo1780 which may be
stored
in the storage subsystem. The prize pool may include information about the
prizes
associated with various tickets. This information may alternatively be stored
in a
central lottery computer or server, as will be described below.
The example point of sale terminal may include a ticket log 790 which may be
stored
in the storage subsystem. The ticket log may include information on which game
tickets have been activated or sold, which have been redeemed, etc. An entry
may be
included in the ticket log for each ticket, or for each ticket that has been
activated.
The entries may be indexed by the authentication codes found on a ticket, or
by some
other approach. It will be appreciated that the ticket log and prize pool may
be
merged into a single file or database. It will also be appreciated that no
particular
data structure need be employed for the prize pool or database, provided
information
on tickets can be accurately and efficiently located. For example, arrays,
relational
databases, hash tables, or other data structures may all be employed.
It will be appreciated that the example point of sale terminal may be
configured to
perform operation needed to implement the example ticket sale, activation,
authentication, and redemption procedures described previously. It will also
be
appreciated that some game control program operations may not be performed on
the
point of sale terminal, but instead may be performed by a server or central
lottery
database computer. In such case, the game control program or other program in
the
point of sale terminal may need to control the point of sale terminals
interaction with
the server or central lottery database computer, e.g., by sending and
receiving
information from the server or central lottery database computer.
Figure 9 illustrates an example distributed system for sale and redemption of
game
tickets, according to an example embodiment of the present invention.
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The example distributed system may include one or more Point of Sale (POS)
terminals 910. An example POS Terminal may include a display 912, an input
interface 914, and a receipt printer 916. These POS terminals may be similar
to the
POS system described previously in Figures 8 and 9, although some of the
control
functions for game operations may be located outside the POS terminal, e.g.,
in the
central game server or alternatively in a local POS server.
The POS terminals in a location or close to each other may be linked via a
local POS
network 920, e.g., a LAN such as an Ethernet or token ring. This POS network
may
but not include facilities for controlling the POS terminals. For exainple, a
local POS
server 930 may be connected to the POS terminals 910 via the local POS network
920
and may control normal POS operations, such as cash register operations, as
well as
providing communications with a central gaming database or server. The local
POS
server may include a local network administration interface 932, which may be
provided as a terminal or other access method to the local POS server. This
may be
used to control local security, backups, and generally control conventional
POS
operations. The local POS server may also include a storage subsystem 940 for
storing information needed to administer the local POS network and control
conventional terminal operations.
The local POS server, and the POS terminals via the local POS server, may be
connected to a data network 950. This data network may utilize the telephone
network, the internet, or some other form of wide area networking. It will be
appreciated that alternative arrangements may be employed, e.g., the local POS
server
may be omitted and the POS terminals may be connected directly to the network.
The local POS server may provide other functions as well, e.g., encrypting and
decrypting information before it is sent over the data network 950.
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The example distributed system may include a central game server 960 which may
be
connected to the POS terminals and/or local POS server via the data network.
The
central game server may be administered through an administration interface
962.
The central game server may include or be connected to a centralized gaming
storage
subsystem 970, which may be used to store information about gaming, such as
tickets,
game rules, information on sales, redemptions, etc. The centralized gaming
storage
subsystem may include copies of POS control programs 972 which may be
downloaded to control local POS terminals, e.g., when changes in POS terminal
operations are desired. The centralized gaming storage subsystem may also
include
gaine control programs 974 for controlling the central server's involvement in
activation, authentication, and redeinption of game tickets. The centralized
gaming
storage subsystem may also include a ticket database 976 and a ticket log 978.
These
two structures may be separate, or may be combined as part of a single
database or
file. The ticket database may include information on tickets and their
associated
prizes - e.g., which tickets are valid game tickets, which tickets are
winners, and what
the values of the winning tickets are. The ticket log may include information
on
whether, when, and where tickets have been activated, and on whether when and
where tickets have been tendered for redemption. The central game server may
be
configured to look up tickets when information about the tickets is received,
both to
activate the tickets, and when redemption of the tickets is sought. For
example, the
controller may be configured to perform the operations described in the
example
ticket activation and authentication procedures described above.
It will be appreciated that the central game server may have include other
capabilities,
e.g., audit programs, accounting operations, additional security measures,
etc. It will
also be appreciated that any conventional data structure or storage metllod
may be
used for storing ticket information, e.g., relational databases, arrays,
files, hash tables,
etc.
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In an alternative embodiment, the information for all tickets may be stored in
the
central computer and the information for a particular pack of tickets may be
downloaded to the point of sale terminal when the pack of tickets is
activated. This
alternative approach, while potentially causing a slight reduction in
security, may
greatly increase the efficiency of ticket validation and redemption, because
the point
of sale terminal would not need to contact the central computer to validate
every
redeemed ticket. Other alternative distributions of information and processing
may
also be employed, e.g., some processing for tickets may be done on a local
server,
ratller than on a point of sale terminal or at the central lottery server.
Figure 10a illustrates an example ticket information table, according to an
example
einbodiment of the present invention. The example table 1000 combines a ticket
log
and ticket prize database in a single data structure. It will be appreciated
that the
ticket log and ticket prize database may be stored separately, e.g., as
separate tables in
a relational database. It will also be appreciated that other data structures
may be
employed, e.g., a hash table, an array, linked list, or other conventional
data
structures.
The example table 1000 may include entries 1010 for various tickets. The
entries
may be indexed by a ticket id, e.g., as a hash index into an array. The ticket
id may
be the authentication information found on a ticket, or some predetermined
function
of the authentication information. Alternatively, a separate ticket id field
may be
used, that is linked to the authentication information. Each entry may also
include
other information about the ticket with the corresponding ticket id.
Figure 10b illustrates an example entry in the example ticket information
table
illustrated in Figure 10a, according to an example embodiment of the present
invention. Each entry may include various fields of information for a ticket.
It will be
appreciated that the various fields need not be stored in a single list or
array, but may
instead be stored using other arrangements, e.g., in separate normalized
tables of a
relational database, as a linlced data structure, or in some other
arrangement.
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The example entry 1010 may include a ticket id 1020. The ticket id 1020 may be
the
authentication information located on a ticket, e.g., the concatenation or sum
of the
two separate machine readable codes found on the ticket illustrated
previously.
Alternatively, the ticket id 1020 may be some other predetermined function of
the
authentication information found on the ticket, or may be a separate id field
included
on the ticket, or may be some other unique index.
The example entry 1010 may also include a pack id 1022. The pack id 1022 may
identify the pack from which the ticket with ticket id 1020. The pack id 1022
may be
in various forms, e.g., it may be a link to an entry in a pack information
table, a
numerical id, or some other format.
The example entry 1010 may also include a date/time sold field 1024. This
entry may
indicate the date and time the ticket was sold, which may be recorded when the
ticket
is activated if tickets are activated when sold. Any conventional date and
time
format may be employed.
The example entry 1010 may also include a date/time redeemed field 1026. Here
the
field is illustrated as NULL, indicating the ticket has not been redeemed. It
will be
appreciated that, alternatively, a separate flag may be employed to indicate
whether
the ticket has been redeemed.
The example entry 1010 may also include a prize amount 1028. Here the prize
amount shown is $5.00. Any conventional format may be employed. Losing tickets
may be included in the table with a "NULL" value. High value tickets may
include a
"DIVERT" flag in this field, or as a separate field, that indicates the
customer should
be instructed to go to a lottery service center for redemption.
It will be appreciated that other information may also be included in the
ticket
information table. For example, the selling price of a ticket may be included,
e.g., if a
fractional value ticket may be sold. Some tickets may also allow the purchaser
to
vary the odds by changing the amount spent. Information on this selection may
also
be included in the ticket information table entries. Information on where a
ticket is
redeemed may also be included.
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MODIFICATIONS
In the preceding specification, the present invention has been described with
reference
to specific example embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that
various
modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the
broader spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims
that follow.
The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an
illustrative rather
than restrictive sense.
